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| Pupcakes (dog-food cupcakes) from Sprinkles Cupcakes, Beverly Hills (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
A good formula for a homemade diet is one-half cereal, rice, or kibbles, and one-half meat, including its natural fat, with green or yellow vegetables, added from time to time. Since they can be made to measure for each individual dog, these combinations would be ideal if they weren't to much bother. Aside from taking more time and trouble than the other methods, a homemade diet requires a sound knowledge of canine nutrition.
Table scraps are definitely insufficient for modern pets who we want to thrive, not merely survive. They are often the direct cause of obesity and various allied skin disorders too. Dogs with unusually big appetites or with a tendency to obesity will keep their figures if you cut down on the starch and increase the vegetables, to the proportion of one meat, one-fourth kibbles, and one-fourth vegetables. Older dogs may need reduced protein to spare their kidneys the task of nitrogen elimination.
Build your dogs meals around the foods that are highly recommended for dogs:
Beef: (ground or chopped for puppies in chunks for adult dogs, raw or cooked. Dogs prefer their meat a little tough, and they need the fat found in cheaper cuts).
Lamb and mutton
Chicken
Horse Meat
Beef Hearts and Kidneys
Beef Liver (no more than once a week, as too much or too often causes loose stools.
Eggs, hard-boiled or scrambled (The yolk may be given raw, but not the white, which in its raw state destroys biotin, a useful vitamin in the dogs intestine).
Rice, whole wheat, barley, oats, buckwheat
While wheat biscuits or toast
Carrots (cooked or raw, grated and mixed with his meal, or whole for chewing)
String Beans, spinach (chopped or mashed)
Cottage Cheese (excellent for weaning puppies)
Unfermented natural cheese, such as Swiss and Edam Apples and Pears
On the other hand, certain foods should be considered taboo:
White commercial bread
Cabbage (which causes flatulence and is difficult to digest)
Potatoes (hard to digest and not very nourishing)
Starchy Vegetables, such as dried beans
Spicy dishes and sauces
Uncooked egg white
Processed cheese
Pork (unless it is lean, well cooked, and served infrequently)
Raw fish
Delicatessen meats
Unboned chicken, rabbit and fish
Cake and candy
Alcoholic beverages
Chocolate of any kind
Whichever method you choose for feeding your dog, it is best to stick to it. Once he has become accustomed to a certain diet, he will be upset by any sudden change. The upset is apt to take the form of constipation if you change from prepared products to fresh ones and diarrhea in the opposite case. If a change is needed, make it gradual by mixing the old with the new until his body adapts to the change.
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